my first thread (Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham: home, buying, schools)

[Papa Smurf]

I live in Baltimore, MD. I can retire in 3.5 yrs if I can afford to. That won't happen in MD. My wife and I have never been to NC, but have heard the COL is reasonable. NC is also within a days drive of MD.

Can someone recommend a place in central NC where we could get a couple acres of woods in a semi rural area with a 1500 sf rancher for around 150k? We like established areas. Not new developments. My wife also would like to be within .5 hrs of a super WM.

[NCProperties]

The Raleigh/Durham area is nice. If you want land the time to buy is now NC prices are going up monthly in some areas. If you want land the best thing is to find the city you like and then work your way out toward the country. I hear that land in that area is still reasonable. I live near Charlotte in Union County. In this area you can still find land from 8-10K per acre.

[lisaf]

Originally Posted by NCProperties

I live near Charlotte in Union County. In this area you can still find land from 8-10K per acre.

I can assure you, that you cannot find any land in union county for 8-10k!! You can't even find ANY land that is available to the normal human being--everything goes to the builders. I'm convinced that builders must offer the realtors something to "sweeten" the deal if they find land for them. Something that us regular folk can't. I have been looking for a piece of land for several years anywhere in a decent place just outside of mecklenberg (union, cabarrus, etc), and it is not available to me (unless you want the piece in the ditch with all the trailer parks around it).

I even talked with several realtors specializing in land, and I was practically laughed at on the phone--and I was willing to go up to $125,000 on a piece--and one guy basically said to me: "there is nothing available in union, and yeah sure i'll call you if something comes up." Never heard from the guy again.

Perhaps way up in Iredell you are able to still find something, but not around mecklenberg. Outside of buying you little plot in a subdivision, coming by land around here is pretty much impossible that's anywhere near any type of amentity, supermarket, etc.

And Raleigh is not any better for this. Actually, worse.

So, unless you are wanting to live in a more rural area (like Iredell), don't really care too much about the schools, and it doesn't bother you to be 25 mins away from a supermarket--then you might have some itty bitty luck. Otherwise, be ready to compete with the builders that can pay cash for the whole caboodle if you have the dough.

Your best bet, in my opinion, is to buy an older home in a decent area (like Union or Cabarrus), that has a big chunk of property and then tear the thing apart and update it. Much more bang for your buck. People around here seem to always want a "new" home, but if you're willing to put some work (and/or cash) in, you can have a great home the way you want it, and on a bigger piece of land. That's what I'll be doing in the coming year. Because this land searching business is for the birds for regular folks!

[CharlotteAgent]

Well the problem is that investors (in land) bought or by the land 5+ years out and hold on to it for the speculation that its going to become a developed area. Then they can cut the roads sewer/water in and then sell to a developer. I have a good friend in Raleigh that has done this for years and is making a killing. They actually have farmers locate them now and ask if they would be interested in buying the 70+ Acres.

[friendnc]

You might want to try the western half of Lincoln County NC (NW of Charlotte) or southern half of Lancaster County, SC (south of Charlotte). Though they're both technically in the metro area, they still have a pretty rual feel and are still not too far from Charlotte. Good luck in your search!!

[mountain_time_Blues]

Rowan county still has alot of cheap, wide open plots of land. That would be a good place to investigate.